acme

American  

[ak-mee] / ˈæk mi /

noun

1. 

   the highest point; summit; peak.

   The empire was at the acme of its power.

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acme British  

/ ˈækmɪ /

noun

1. the culminating point, as of achievement or excellence; summit; peak

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Other Word Forms

• acmatic
  adjective
• acmic
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of acme

First recorded in 1560–70, from Greek akmḗ “point, highest point, extremity”

Explanation

When something is at the very peak of perfection, reach for this noun from Greek: acme. A brilliant violinist might reach the acme of her career, but eventually she might become unstrung. This noun referring to the highest point of something might sound comical because it has shown up so often in cartoons as the name of a company, such as the one that makes Wile E. Coyote's contraptions in the old Warner Brothers cartoons. But the word is actually a serious-minded import from Greek. Near synonyms for high points include zenith, summit, pinnacle, apex, and peak, but acme has a special nuance for an ultimate point of perfection.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

acme

The 65-year gap between the song’s original release and its acme position is the longest in history, according to Billboard.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 5, 2023

“This will be the acme of Pax Sinica,” he said.

From Washington Times ● Jan. 10, 2022

There, conversation among thinkers fizzing with originality had its acme in a club founded in 1764 by the dictionary-maker Samuel Johnson and the portrait painter Joshua Reynolds.

From New York Times ● Apr. 5, 2019

But within the film’s logic, its 1999 is the Matrix, the delusion, the acme of all ideology.

From Salon ● Jul. 15, 2018

The disease generally reaches its acme on the third or fourth day, when the fever commences to subside, and an amelioration of the other symptoms takes place, so that the patient feels greatly relieved.

From A System of Practical Medicine by American Authors, Vol. I Volume 1: Pathology and General Diseases by Various